Familiar Stranger
by pansyfied69
Summary: Pansy Parkinson ran away from the only world she knew. But she had been a very bad girl, and some of her enemies won't let her just get away with it. They are back with a vengeance, and Pansy knows it. But what she didn't know is that she will fall in the hands of people who she thought were the enemy, but will give her another chance to prove herself, and the ability to fight back
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Deansy (: I do not own any of the characters. All rights reserved for JK Rowling, the original author.

Pansy was running. Her cloak billowing around her as she ran, staggered and fell a couple of times but managed to get up and run again. She had been hiding for a month now, a month since the end of the war. She did something very stupid back then, suggested they should turn Potter over to the Dark Lord, and this is the consequence she has to pay for that unfortunate mistake. But she had no time to repent right now.

She continued to run, not even bothering to look over her shoulders, just ran as fast as she could. And then she collided into something hard, or rather, someone. She fell back and landed on her bum. Pain radiated all through out her back. She looked up to see who it was, but she was a second too late. The hooded man was already bending towards her and scooped her into his arms like she was made of paper, instead of flesh and bones. The man smelled of sweat, muscular but not bulky, Pansy could say even if she was shaking and her eyes remained close.

"Keep quiet Parkinson." Said the stranger. He really didn't need to say that. She couldn't make a single sound anyway. But the voice sounded oddly familiar. She heard it before somewhere, probably at school, but she can't decide about the owner.

The stranger rounded up a corner and waited until those people who were chasing her ran past. Then he let out a sigh of relief. He was holding his breath, just like she was, and that brought her a bit of a comfort. However, she can't understand why this person saved her, why he didn't just let those hell hounds carry her off and give her the sentence they believed she deserved.

He carefully set her down on the pavement and she tried to steady herself before asking, "Who are you?" The stranger laughed and his cloak fell back. Something unpleasant tugged at Pansy's stomach with the dawning realization as to who had been her savior.

"Hello, Thomas." She said coolly. "Thanks for the ride on your arms."

"No problem Parkinson." Said Dean, but he unexpectedly grabbed her hands and pulled her forward. She panicked. Red alert flags boomed inside her mind. With such unbelievable strength for an underfed skinny girl that had been in hiding from the rest of Wizarding London, she was too strong. She wrenched her hands away and broke into a run, Dean went after her.

He had the advantage of longer legs. In a matter of seconds she was within his grasp, and hooked his arm around her neck. She bit her arm. Dean let out a yelp of pain while Pansy ran ahead, not even looking back. She now regretted forgetting her wand in her shabby muggle flat. Dean however, had not.

"I'm not really supposed to hurt you!" He bellowed. "But I have no choice." He said quietly to himself. He pointed his wand at her and said "Stupefy!". A red jet of light hit Pansy at the back and she fell, stunned. Dean went for her and crouched beside her.

"You've been a very bad girl, Parkinson." He pulled her into a hug, and they disapparated into the cold night air.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione Granger heard a tiny pop and she knew that one of the guys were home. Dumbledore's Army had settled into making Grimmauld Place as their Headquarters while the Order settled for the Burrow. She quickly went for the door and opened it just in time. Dean Thomas was standing on the front steps carrying a girl that was rendered limp in his arms. She let him in.

"Looked for her all afternoon. She's really quite elusive, that even those filthy gangs are having a hard time finding her. And she's a real difficult little pureblood brat." Dean rolled up the sleeve of his right arm and showed Hermione bite marks embedded on there. "Bit me, that ungrateful witch."

"Shush, Dean. She must've panicked and decided to go with the defensive."

Dean shrugged. "Whatever, Mione. It's her fault she's being hunted down anyway."

Hermione shook her head. "Look at the state of her, Dean. She's not fat as I can remember but she's definitely not this thin." Hermione raised one of Pansy's wrist and examined it. "And look how pale she is, and her bruises and scars... No one deserves to be punished like this."

Luna Lovegood emerged from the kitchen, with a dream catcher in one of her hands. "Oh, is that the Parkinson girl?" she asked, looking apprehensively at the figure lying on the couch. Dean nodded in answer and looked quite resentful about how he acted minutes ago. Hermione knew her words had taken effect. "I'll go fetch Draco." Said Luna, in her calm, dreamy voice.

Draco Malfoy, as part of his rehabilitation, had been working with the D.A. to round up Voldemort's scattered supporters that are still threatening the Wizarding World's peace and order. He had been like Snape, somehow. Working on both sides of the blade. Ron was so much against this appointment but Harry insisted he trusts Malfoy. He was assigned with a dangerous assignment a few days back. He needed to spy on the Death Eater's hiding in Crest Valley, west of England, and these Death Eaters include some of his former mates: Zabini, Goyle, Nott, Flint, Davis, etc. It was dangerous, because he knew they didn't trust him anymore. He might be hit with a Killing Curse the moment he stepped into their camp. No one knows of course, that Draco is now working for the right side. But that his family was spared from Azkaban roused suspicion.

He would go, he said. But only if they manage to agree on his one condition. And that is to find Pansy Parkinson, who ran away after the war, and bring her to safety. "What if she's already dead?" Asked Ron, and Draco shot him a look of loathing and abhorrence that mangled his handsome features. Ron never said anything about death right after that.

Harry and Ron are now working as part-time aurors in training, and had to be away for most of the night and day. Seamus was assigned on the security of all the families of D.A. members, along with Neville, Hannah, and Cho, and they come and go but never stay at Grimmauld for long. Which leaves Luna, Draco, Ginny, Hermione, and Dean. The rest had gone with their families and not participate in D.A. anymore.

Dean was assigned the task of looking for Pansy, and after a whole week of painful search, he managed to bring her to safety.

Draco arrived with Luna in tow, his face was hard to read. There was anxiousness there, eagerness, and relief. She kneeled beside Pansy on the couch and took her hand in his. He raked her whole face with his eyes, making sure she was real, making sure she was alive. Her lids fluttered but they remained shut.

"Luna, where's Ginny?" Hermione asked quietly. "Asleep. Tired from helping George in the shop. I'll go make you guys some tea." said Luna and she smiled. "I- I- I'll help Luna." stammered Hermione. It did not feel good, watching Draco and Pansy, it was like intruding into something really private and intimate. She scuttled off after the swinging dirty-blonde hair.

Dean, however, didn't seem to mind and just sat on one of the couches.

"Happy now, Malfoy? You already have your girlfriend back."

But Draco didn't look happy. A shadow crossed his face at the mention of the word girlfriend and he said, "She's not my girlfriend anymore." before he could stop himself.

Dean was surprised by these words. He looked at him with curious eyes. Draco met his gaze and shook his head. "I won't answer questions, Thomas." He stood up and straightened his shirt, then bent down to retrieve Pansy where she lay. "Where are you bringing her?" Dean asked, suddenly tense on his seat. "To my room" answered Draco simply.

"No." Said Dean.

Draco turned to look at him like he said he just peed in his pants.

"You're not taking her anywhere Malfoy."

"And why not?" snarled Draco.

"She's not your girlfriend. She's gonna stay in Cho's spare room. I'll carry her."

And before Malfoy could stop him, he was carrying Pansy up the stairs, leaving Draco burning with suppressed rage.


	3. Chapter 3

She was running, running so fast that she was almost out of breath. "We're coming to get you, Parkinson!" said an all-too familiar voice. Pansy's heart froze. How could he? How could they? She turned into a corner and stopped dead on her tracks. She was cornered. To her left were her pursuers, to her right was a brick wall, behind her was a shop, and in front of her was a dark alleyway. Without second thoughts she plunged into the darkness, praying with all her might that it wasn't...

A dead end.

If there's any God at all, he might not have forgiven her yet, for it was exactly what she prayed it not to be. Great, just great.

"Here at last, aren't we, Parkinson?" said a deep drawl she knew too well, she would recognize it anywhere.

Pansy snorted.

"Aaah, and still an arrogant bitch princess, aren't we?" said a different voice Pansy recognized too. It was husky and warm, she thought she liked it, but right now she loathed it.

"But look at you! You don't look like a princess anymore." a softer and yet unmistakeably masculine voice spoke. "You look more like a... Hmmmmm... A muggle rag."

There was a roar of laughter that followed. Pansy felt her cheeks burning with shame but she kept her ground and tilted her chin upwards, She wanted to show these pigs that they could insult her all they want, and she won't be affected anymore. She cocked one of her eyebrows at them and made a face.

The laughter stopped.

One of her pursuers stepped forward, placed his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him.

"Let go of me, Blaise."

"I remember the last time you told me that, you didn't really mean it.

"I mean it now." and with that, she spat on his face.

Zabini looked, if anything, surprised. He used his free hand to wipe away the liquid in his face, and Pansy saw, even in the dark, Blaise's face break into a devilish grin. Pansy's heart hammered in her chest.

"Do it, Nott."

The man who owned the husky voice muttered "Lumos" and they were suddenly bathed in green light emanating from the tip of Nott's wand. She saw Theodore beside Goyle, standing behind Blaise who hadn't even loosened his grip on her waist's yet. If anything, he tightened it. And then Pansy's eyes grew wide in horror. Theo was holding something in his hand that looked so much like her Yew and Dragon-Heartstring wand. With her free hand she fingered her pocket and realized, it wasn't there.

"It fell while you were running." Said Goyle, smiling like there's no tomorrow.

"We used a mist. It's a charm that makes you forget about something temporarily. We made you forget you had a wand." There was triumph and smugness in Theo's voice that made her abhor it even more.

"This is what happens to traitors, Pansy," Blaised leaned to kiss Pansy full on the mouth and her eyes bulged in shock. She was still looking at Theo, who was already grinning by now. He took the opposite sides of her wand in his hands and snapped it cleanly into two.

Tears welled in Pansy's eyes ad he pushed Blaise away with such force that he landed a few feet backwards. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Pansy shrieked, voicing out all her rage.

"NOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Parkinson! Parkinson wake up!"

Pansy's eyes flew open. She was lying on a white mattress, white sheets covered her from the waist down. Sitting on the bed with both her hands on Pansy's shoulders was Hermione Granger. Pansy's eyes grew wide and Hermione removed her hands.

"You were having a nightmare." Hermione said matter-of-factly, her face screwed in what looked like a grimace.

"Where's my wand?" Pansy blurted out abruptly, eyes still wide.

"We sent Dean to retrieve it from your flat -"

"You people! You people are spying on me! Why am I here? What do you need me for, huh, Granger? I went away, I stayed out of your hairs! Then now, this! THIS?" Pansy had now gotten off the bed and went to the other side so she faced Hermione. She was in hysterics, panic and anger rising up in her stomach like bile.

"Now please, Parkinson if you would just let me explain -" Hermione pleaded helplessly, trying her best to remain calm.

"What is there to explain, Granger? You -"

What ever followed "You -" had been cut off by an unexpected entrance. Draco stood by the door, with his brows furrowed, and yet wearing another one of his unreadable expressions. It was like pain, happiness, curiosity, and delight were knitted to form his elegant face. Pansy let out a strangled noise.

"I'll leave the two of you alone to talk." Hermione excused herself, relieved to get out of the room.

Draco walked towards Pansy, his eyes glued upon her face. She was suddenly conscious of her appearance. She was wearing a white long-sleeved sleeping gown that was not much of her taste but at least they felt comfortable. She would worry about who it belonged to later. Her hair was a mess, a rumpled mass of dark brown strands atop her face, she might've looked like she had been electrified. This was the wrong time to even worry, but still she wouldn't meet Draco eyes. After a few moments they were already standing a feet from each other, but Pansy's head was bent down, she was staring at her feet. They need cleaning, as soon as possible, she decided. Draco's hands suddenly touched her right arm, and Pansy jerked at the contact.

Draco sighed.

"Pans. Come over here."

Pansy did not move.

"Pans -"

"NO." Pansy looked up at Draco, her eyes wet with tears, but she blinked them away. And then she lunged forward and started ramming her fists against his chest.

"YOU TOTAL JERK! WHAT AM I DOING HERE? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE! YOU SHOW UP, AFTER A MONTH! I WAITED FOR YOU! YOU SAID WE WOULD MEET! YOU NEVER CAME DRACO YOU NEVER CAME! AND NOW! NOW! YOU COME HERE! EXPECTING ME TO MELT AT YOUR TOUCH WHEN YOU GOT ENGAGED TO MY BESTFRIEND'S SISTER BEHIND MY BACK! YOU MADE ME LOOK LIKE A FOOL! YOU..."

Pansy fell down at Draco's feet, crying so profusely it hurt. He let her hurt him, because he knew she needed it. She was right, he was a jerk. A coward. A moron. A bastard. She was sobbing and shaking and he could help it no longer. He picked her up and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Pans. Father did the arrangement and I could not say no. I tried, I protested, but it was too late. I was too late, as always. I looked for you but it was hard. They said you ran away, they said you betrayed them."

Pansy shook her head but said nothing. Se was still crying shamelessly, her face on Draco's chest. Finally she pulled away.

"Leave me alone."

"But Pans -"

"I said leave me alone!"

At that very moment the door burst open. And there, right at the entrance was Dean Thomas, holding something in his hands.

"Good morning, Parkinson! I thought I'd bring you your... Wand."

Dean said the last word very quietly as he realized what he just walked into. Ginny appeared behind his back, tugging his left sleeve. "I told you it could wait, Dean."

"It's alright Weasley." Pansy said. "Draco was just leaving."

Draco looked at Pansy with a wounded expression on his face, but he went out anyway, scowling at Dean as he passed. "He might need some tea." Ginny said and went away with Draco as well. Dean, however, walked into the room like nothing emotional happened.

"It's your wand." He said as he handed Pansy the elongated package wrapped in white paper. Pansy unwrapped it non-too gently.

"You missed it that bad, huh?" Dean asked and smirked. Pansy looked taken aback but said nothing. And then she saw it. It was her wand, unharmed. Just as she left it in her muggle flat.

"Never thought you'd go living in a muggle building, Parkinson."

"I had no choice."

"Who were you hiding from anyway?"

Pansy looked at Dean, and he thought she saw something pass between her eyes. She shook her head. "Just some people who wanted to punish me for my bad behavior."

"Alright then. I'd go back down now. Just call if you need something." Dean turned towards the door, and he barely touched the handle when Pansy said.

"Thank you, Thomas."

He turned and gave her a wink. "You're welcome.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here's a really long chapter from all of you guys! Hope you enjoy reading!**

Dean Thomas stepped down the flight of stairs, counting the steps as he descended them. He could not help but think back to what he walked into in Pansy Parkinson's bedroom. He thought – they all thought – that it was her who was more into Draco Malfoy than Draco was into her. Well apparently, they were wrong. All's fair in love and war, and yet somehow, these two had lost so much.

Draco is now engaged to Astoria Greengrass. Hell, he doesn't even recognize that name, but they all said she was two years younger than him. She's from a rich pureblood family; no doubt Lucius Malfoy betrothed his son to her. Not even caring that it was a different girl he loved.

He loved her, alright. Why else would he make finding her a condition to what he was supposed to do? He was supposed to go head-first into danger. He was going to risk being killed. He was going to betray his friends to do what is right. And even if Malfoy's cowardice gets the best of him sometimes, this is a stroke of courage even Ron Weasley couldn't help but admire.

He sank into a worn leather chair that used to be Fred and George's favourite. It would have been different if they were here; a lot more lively. But George is still mourning his twin's death, and really, who are they to take that away from him? So they let him be, immersing himself in work, trying to perfect the brews that he and Fred began together. Even with Ginny helping out at the shop, George was still isolated in his own island of grief, masking it with his happy face. And no one knows if he's ever coming back.

The one thing that's bothering him is why Draco did not refuse. He is now a consenting adult in wizard years, and yet he let his father do whatever he likes with his life. He is a coward, he told himself. He could've helped it, but he didn't. And for that he is a coward of the lowest kind.

Dean stretched out his legs, not realizing how tired they were until he did so. Tired from walking the slums of London to get into the highly concealed neighbourhood where Pansy Parkinson had spent six months of her life. The buildings were dilapidated, almost ready to collapse in on itself and burry its tenants in boulders of rocks. The streets were filthy with garbage and diapers and rotting food, and even dead rodents here and there. She must have been really desperate, he thought, to stand living in a place like this just to get away from whoever it were that were after her. Her building was a three-storey high industrial type. Dean can tell that the paint used to be a light peach, but now it's more of a grimy dirty-white. It looked like it used to be a factory of some kind, converted by the desperate into living quarters. The hallways were dark and empty except for trash (since he went there at 5 in the morning) but there are voices that seemed to be shouting, arguing, or loudly talking, but since the walls are thick, it didn't quite reach him. She was in apartment number seven, and contrary to the filth outside her doors, Pansy's room was tidy and organized. There was a single bed by the window, a nightstand beside it, a book shelf by the door, a locked suitcase under the bed, and a mini sofa that could seat two and a half. There were eating utensils in her room too, and a box of Chinese food that hasn't been opened yet, and already it was beginning to smell. This was the only flaw he found, since even the linoleum floor which was a faded green with flower prints, was spotless as polished glass.

Dean found Pansy's wand under her green pillow (Green? Green pillow for a girl? I know she's a Slytherin, but really?). He tucked it into his pocket and, knowing that whoever was watching Pansy's apartment for signs of her was probably also watching him by now, aware that the guards have been sleeping and that security had been breached, threw Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder into the air, and apparated back to Grimmauld Place.

"Dean! Why did you do that?" Hermione was half-out of her chair, looking at him like a mother might look at her child if she caught him misbehaving. "You know the risks! That's why we told you you can't apparate anywhere near her place!"

"Really, Mione? What harm could it do? _She's_ safe with _us_ now." Dean instantly wished he hadn't relayed the full report of his morning adventure to his friends. Luna was sitting on a chair by the window, looking at him apprehensively with her orb-like blue eyes open wide, Draco was standing by the kitchen door, sipping his tea, looking every inch a Malfoy, and Hermione was sitting directly across him at the dinner table, looking frantic. "I was merely giving them something to talk about. It's their fault they don't guard the place well enough! I even got through without any concealing charm." Dean boasted, as if this was enough to justify his recklessness.

"I know, alright, I know. But now is not the time for taking risks! If they see her missing, they would be suspicious as to where she is! And that might jeopardize the mission we have for Draco! Or worse, they might think it was him who had been in her apartment, considering he used Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder once too. They might suspect him of hiding her!"

Draco cast Dean a grave look, as if saying: Congratulations, 'I'm now as good as dead. Nice work.' And Dean felt an involuntary twinge of guilt inside him. "We already took a risk by taking her here, Mione. They already know she's missing and maybe it's best if they suspect someone of hiding – "

But Dean never got the chance to finish because another voice rang out of the room as sharp as broken glass, and just as beautiful.

"They might suspect who of hiding who?" It was a question, but Pansy Parkinson made it sound like an admonishment, like they were all close friends and they kept her out of the secret they all knew and she didn't. It was partly true. Even Hermione looked uncomfortable. But Draco, dear Draco, looked at her as if he was a saint worthy of his personal army of angels, and that she should give him thanks and praise. She looked back at him with blank brown eyes as if to say: Credit only where it's due. To give it now is premature. Die for me first.

Draco cast his eyes downward, color flooding his pale cheeks. For a while there was an awkward tenseness in the air that nobody seemed eager to touch.

It was Luna who broke the silence.

"Dean went into your muggle flat to retrieve your wand this morning." Her voice was calm and steady and devoid of any awkwardness, her expression as serene as the surface of a stagnant lake. "And he had to take muggle transportation to get there because someone booby-trapped the whole area. Ginny went there last night while you were sleeping and figured out this much."

"And?" Pansy prodded. "Booby-trapped how?"

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but Ginny appeared on the kitchen doorway, looking worn out and still wearing her Quidditch Robes from morning practice (for the Holyhead Harpies try-outs), nudged Draco aside to let her pass, and said, "They know you apparate almost all the time. I'm guessing they have you under surveillance for quite a period of time now, so they rigged the place with magic. Anytime someone apparates, an alarm goes off. And before you know it, hell has already descended upon you."

Dean looked at her ex-girlfriend, who was now preparing for herself a bowl of cereal and a tall glass of pumpkin juice, with a mixture of surprise and admiration. Ginny has indeed grown up, matured, and had become a lot wiser than when they'd dated. No surprise that Harry was head-over-heels. Shaking himself out of the reverie, he added, "They also set up guards to watch the apartment in case you were wise enough not to apparate. It was smart, but well… Obviously not smart enough."

Hermione looked at Dean as if she might say something about being careful but seemed to think it was useless. Draco turned to Ginny. "So Weaslette, how did you manage to get hold of this information?"

"Not so easily. I went there dressed as a nanny. And I dyed my hair black as well." She looked at Draco pointedly, who was going to say something. He clamped his mouth shut. Ginny touched her hair as if to make sure it's back to its natural colour, which was fiery red in the morning sunlight, and went on with the explanation. "The moment you were gone, the rigging started. Not so covertly, but not open enough to attract so much attention. To the untrained eye, nothing would pass as uncommon, but I knew better. There were no people outside. Everyone went to a "birthday party" and they don't even know whose it is. And everybody seemed drunk, even the women. And the children were _dazed_." Continued Ginny, eyes wide, as if she can't believe anyone would have the heart to harm the children. _But my lot is different. They would use anyone, everyone_, Draco thought. "They were imperiused to stay indoors until the rigging was over."

"Does the ministry know?" Hermione sounded as if she might deliver a baby any minute now. "This is wide scale use of an illegal curse to more than a dozen muggles! Surely someone is thinking of doing something!" Hermione was shrieking. Luna made her way to her to calm her down.

"I informed the ministry by owl –"

"And how were you not imperiused?" Pansy asked, cutting Ginny off.

For a moment Ginny looked bewildered, but then she just took on an expression of resignation. "Because I was wearing George's new invention: a curse-repelling ring. I took it with me just in case, you know." She raised her right hand to show them the ring she was wearing on her index finger. It was normal-looking enough, silver with swirling patterns of vines and flowers. "It's not yet for sale but it now works on the Imperius Curse, but only for three tries. On the fourth the protection will break and you're going to be done for. But it doesn't give any sign that the spell didn't quite work so it's perfect for short-term use. And uh," Ginny took a swig of her juice, set it down on the table and began folding her hands on itself, something she did when she's nervous or uncomfortable.

"What is it, Gin?" Hermione slid further down her seat. Two inches more and she would surely hit the floor.

Ginny sat down at Hermione's left side on the table. "Harry gave me his invisibility cloak yesterday to bring it home. He passed by the shop to drop it by and went on his way with Ron. So when I went at Pansy's last night, I used it without telling him."

Ginny looked so embarrassed and a blush was spreading from her neck to her face which was making her look like a ripe tomato. Hermione sat back on her seat (THANK MERLIN!) and started laughing. For a while nobody said anything, but Pansy followed suit and now everyone was laughing. It was pleasant, more so, because a year ago if people told them they'd ended up laughing with each other on a house that used to be Sirius Black's they would tell them they were mental. But now it is happening. Rivals, united for the common good.

"Oh, my gosh!" Hermione started. "Harry would be so proud of you!"

"He would be so turned on, Weaslette. Trust me, guys like misbehaving girls."

"Oh shush, you two!" Ginny scolded, looking revolted, and Pansy and Hermione doubled over with more laughter.

Dean was also laughing, but he noticed Malfoy, who stood there smiling, looking as if this was something he wanted to happen in a very long time.

"This is pleasant," said Luna, panting slightly, "we're all friends now." She smiled her innocent smile, eyes shining like the celestial body she was named after. She said it like it was a fact, like it had been proven right there and then. And for a moment everybody seemed to feel warm inside, like friendship was something they would all like. And looking at Pansy at that moment, at her heart-shaped face and honey-colored eyes, smiling with simple but genuine delight, Dean knew that he might just go for more than just friendship.

Pansy and Luna had gone to bed, leaving Ginny, Hermione, Dean, and Draco talking in the kitchen.

"I think she knows who's chasing her but she wouldn't tell us." Ginny started.

Draco looked at her, eyebrows knitted closely together. "It's just because she doesn't know who to trust."

"I know that, Malfoy. But she has to tell us. Harry said Crescent Valley had been quiet for weeks. Who knows? Maybe your pals went downtown to look for something… Or someone."

"Are you saying… That they're looking for her?" Draco's voice was quiet, but there was something terrifyingly venomous about the calm way he delivered his words that Ginny quickly tried to explain.

"All I'm saying is that we don't know where she'd been when she ran away from the war. There's a big chunk of the puzzle missing, Draco. Too big to ignore."

"What I'm really curious about is what they want from her." It was Dean, and Draco looked up at him so quickly that it was as if his head had snapped.

"Will you take a seat, Thomas? You're too tall and it's hard to look up at you and play Giraffe."

Dean took the seat beside Draco, and they are now facing Ginny and Hermione, who was wearing a faraway look on her face, filled with determined concentration. The three of them exchanged looks.

"Is she always like this?" Draco inquired.

"Shut up!" "Yes." Ginny and Dean said at the same time. Draco smiled.

Then they all jumped, because Hermione began to talk.

"She ran away from the war, the moment Filch opened the dungeons for the Slytherins to get out. But I think she went home first, to her parents." At the mention of her parents, Draco huffed. He hated them, and what they did to her all those years when she was too young to defend herself against the physical and verbal abuse. If she turned out to be a bad person, it was mainly because of her harsh upbringing. But that was just what she admired about Pansy most. Deep down inside, she has a heart, a conscience. "And she found them dead. And all of their money in the bank was gone, like it said in the reports."

"It was my father. He took it. Voldemort killed Frank and Patricia but my father took the money. He imperiused Frank to allow him access to the vault before they slaughtered him and his wife."

"Does Pansy know?" asked Hermione, worry darkening her pretty face.

Draco shook his head no.

"But why would they need that much money Draco?" asked Ginny.

"Because they needed finances, and when the war was over and Voldemort succeeds, he will need all the galleons he could get to build himself an empire that will last forever. The Parkinsons, during the last three years, had become richer than us, if you haven't known, thanks to my father's continuous messing up. As for my father, he was hoping that maybe if he got his master some money, he would spare him a little of his own. He wasn't so wise, my father. I always thought."

And then he added, as if an afterthought, "That's why he can't stand her to marry me. Because he knows what he did to her parents, and what he watched Voldemort do to them, even if they're not one of his own."

Now it was Draco's turn to be stared at, as the other three exchanged but another look. Draco bowed his head, as if the truth had defeated him in a duel. It was Dean who spoke at last.

"I take it, that this is also the reason why you won't marry her?" Draco looked at Dean with such intensity that his eyes seemed to freeze the edges of his humanity, and he said,

"Yes. Even if I want to."

And Dean thought, that maybe, just maybe, Draco was not as cowardly as he thought he was.

**A/N: Reviews would be awesome!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Chapter five is up! Hope you like it!**

Pansy excused herself from the dining room the moment Luna Lovegood yawned. Coming down from her bedroom took a lot more courage than she would like to acknowledge and staying there for a chat longer than necessary would take even more. So she went up her room, telling them that she's still feeling a little bit shaken and needs her rest. The moment she closed her door, she sank to the floor and wept.

Downstairs she could hear the faint sound of talking voices, but could not distinguish who's who. Pansy hugged her knees to herself, feeling very tired of everything and everyone. Sometimes she feels like she just wants to die, but that would be weakness. And even if her father had gone on to the other side, she knew he wouldn't tolerate weakness. And she shouldn't either.

But she can't help it sometimes. The feeling of loneliness had crept up on her while she was on the run, and sometimes it becomes too overwhelming to ignore. She keeps on telling herself that she's safe now, and that she's with good people, better people than her. But still, she felt helpless, small, irrelevant, and afraid.

She won't claim all the credit and say that this is all happening because of her. This is all happening because of The Dark Lord and his follower's (some of whom were her friends) refusal to back down even now that he is gone. They all believe that they could still be a menace, that they are still strong enough to pursue the cause of a pure society. Meaning, NO MUDBLOODS ALLOWED. Pansy is not dumb. She saw the flaw in the plan and still sees it. The flaw is they themselves, the followers of the Dark Lord's cause. Most of them were selfish, powered only by fear and not dedication (except maybe, Bellatrix, who stands for nothing now that she's dead), fuelled only by pride, and not compassion. They all stood for the wrong reasons, hungry for power but not quite ready to die for it. They did not – do not realize that only one person will benefit in a cause thousands were fighting for, humans and non-humans both. If they won the war, what then?

The Dark Lord does not love. He can't feel pity or gratitude, only loathing and disgust. All of the Death Eaters were only pawns in his game of chess. They were only weapons in his armoury, things to use and dispose when they no longer served his purpose. And all of them can be _replaced._ A world without muggles? Lovely. But a world where humanity is but a joke, where your worth depends on how much you can be of use to a noseless bastard? A world where the only colour is black, silver, and green? Sorry, but no. She won't have it.

And not only that, Pansy would never see pretty things anymore. Flowers sprouting from the bosom of the earth, wild dandelions fighting for survival, butterflies and orchids and puppies. All of those would be gone, to be replaced only by darkness and slaughter and echoes of screams and pleas from oppressed muggle-borns.

Make no mistake. Pansy is still trying to accept muggles. She _hated_ them, but she learned to live with them, she learned their ways. She realized that just like witches and wizards, muggles are humans, some good, others, evil. But it's not easy to throw aside 17 years of pureblood upbringing just because _it is the right thing_ to do. She wasn't really raised to do the right thing.

Pansy knew deep within her heart, (and yes, she has one), that even when the galleons would be waist-deep, too many to even spend, it won't make her happy. Pansy may seem shallow, but she appreciates the beauty small things hold within them. And she knows that even if he denies it, so does Draco.

Looking back in that dark alleyway, before Dean Thomas even came to sweep her of her feet, literally, she thought she knew who her persuants were. And she remembered her dream the night before, the one Granger woke her from. It was them. Goyle and Nott and Zabini, chasing her like she was their lunch. She felt rocks settle on the pit of her stomach with this realization, one that her subconscious tried to keep from her. There were others before them, muggles and otherwise. Once she came too close to Diagon Alley that someone recognized her, two boys from Ravenclaw who were a year younger than she was. They chased her down and beat her up, "for Harry Potter". Of course, Pansy thought, the price I have to pay for wanting Hogwarts to be spared, for Draco to know I was still there, waiting for him to come for me like he promised. _One little selfish mistake for a lifetime of banishment from the world where she belonged…_

When she settled in London, it was the muggles who sought her. They went inside her apartment one night, with masks on their faces. And they touched her. They said she was a "pretty little thing", and not having anything to eat for days, too weak to say no or fight back, she let them. They went inside her one by one, and they left a few notes on the floor after they were done. And just like that, her virginity was robbed from her.

But she had enough cash to keep on living. She changed address and went to work as a waitress in a hole-in-the-wall pizzeria. Sometimes she would regret what she let those men do to her. She would scrub herself in her bath until her skin bled, until the filth was gone. Until she no longer remembered the breathing of those men while they pushed inside her, and the strong scent of liquor and sweat that their bodies possessed. But it burned in her mind like the Dark Mark burned in Draco's arms. It was branded onto her very soul, and no amount of soap or bleach can cleanse it away. No matter how she tried to forget, she remembered. She will always remember.

Dean was almost ready to go to bed, but he thought he would pass by Pansy's room just to check, so he went upstairs and was not very surprised when he heard muffled sobs coming from behind the door. Not even bothering to knock, he went in, and found Pansy shivering on the floor, her body being racked by silent cries. He went to her and scooped her in his arms but she fought him and screamed, she flailed her arms and pushed him away from her while saying "Don't touch me! Please don't, please don't" over and over again. Her eyes were wide and afraid like he'd never thought she was capable of. Tears streaked her beautiful face and her nose was running.

"Sshhh, Parkinson. It's just me."

The sight of her like a cornered animal broke his heart. _What have they done to you, Parkinson? How deep are your wounds, really? Tell me, because I can't seem to see where the cracks are_. Pansy was still shaking and crying. He can't see her face but she could feel her wet hair on his hands.

"Pansy, Pansy it's Dean." He brought his hands below her chin and tilted her face so she could see his. He looked at her with pity and something else, something just lurking behind his heart that he couldn't seem to name. He tried to conceal it, but Pansy saw it too. But all she registered was a gentleness she was only used seeing in Draco. _But this isn't Draco._ She felt her consciousness being pulled into those eyes, like metal to magnet. _Snap_. Her nightmare is gone, to be replaced by reality.

"I… Thomas, what – what are you doing here?"

She looked at her position in his arms and he felt her stiffen, but Dean held on to her tighter.

"I came to check up on you."

"I'm fine."

"Don't be a liar, Parkinson."

He carried her to her bed and lay her down. She pushed her hair out of her face and looked him directly in the eyes. Dean thought it was the most terrible yet beautiful sight he ever beheld. A woman fighting her weakness, face wet with tears yet eyes full of determination to conquer whatever nightmare was waiting for her somewhere in the depths of the subconscious hidden behind her hazel eyes, which now looked like molten silver in the moonlight that lit a ray on the bed where she half-sit, half-lay. He was speechless for a moment, and didn't even realize Pansy was talking to her.

"Hello?" Pansy said, waving her hands in front of his face."

"Wha-?" was all Dean managed to say.

"Thomas, I know I'm magnificent to behold but could you at least focus and shut your mouth? It's hanging open."

Dean clamped his jaw shut. Was this narcissistic brand of sarcasm inherent in all of Slytherin? "Well," he began, looking faintly embarrassed, "were you saying something?"

"Yeah. I asked you if it would be okay if you stay with me for a while until I fell asleep."

She said this without missing a beat or batting an eyelash. And of course, how could Dean say no to that? But before he could even answer a yes, she moved away slightly and patted the empty side of her bed. Dean climbed in and, without even asking if he could, moved towards Pansy and hugged her to himself. She seemed to tense a bit, but she relaxed soon enough, until she fell asleep in his arms.

And all Dean could think about was that he could definitely get used to this.

**A/N: Reviews would be awesome!**


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